We can read whatever we like into this super little BBC Bitesize survey. It explores the top ten jobs teenagers want when they’re older, and why. The sample of 4,000 kids, from across the UK, was quizzed at the end of 2024.
It’s interesting because there’s probably a gap between what a youngster thinks the job’s like, and what it is like. Perhaps that’s why the NHS lists number one in ‘Desirable Companies’. TV’s Casualty looks dramatic and interesting. But to my brother-in-law Lee, this week, casualty (with a little ‘c’) looked like two visits resulting in being sent home, unseen. And a third visit with an 11 hour wait time.
And for the cynical… I don’t know whether, ‘feeling good about what I do’ – which lists as the most important thing about my job, means ‘meaningful’ or ‘I get to do what I want.’ And I don’t know whether, ‘happiness’ – which lists as the second most important thing about my job means ‘meaningful’ or ‘I get to do what I want.’
More positively perhaps, 85% said they felt confident about getting the job they want. Doctors, engineers and teachers are the top three desirable roles. And ‘jobs’ like influencer don’t list.
But here’s what I think is a bit of a shame. The most desirable (listed) companies to work for are either big, noisy, or both. Fame, it seems, in the minds of the young, is the reward for scale and bluster. Whereas in my world, there are lots of smaller, worthier, lovelier businesses and brands that, in actual fact, would be fabulous places to work. I know that this piece of work is macro not micro. But it’s a reminder, to me at very least, of the gap that still exists between young people and the educational institutions meant to support them – and a very best local, realistic, reachable workplace.
Here’s the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrfknk7.